Tucson artist and friend to many of us (and former Phantom Limbs drummer) Howard Salmon died early this morning, finally succumbing to the brain cancer he fought so hard for almost two years.

The funeral is this Sunday, Aug. 10, at Temple Emanu-El, 225 N Country Club Road, 10 a.m. followed by a burial service at Evergreen, 3015 N. Oracle Road. The family will be observing shiva for seven days. In Judaism, this is the week-long traditional mourning period for relatives and close friends. I was told those close to Salmon who may want to participate and visit with his family should call to find out what time they are taking visitors. It's customary to bring food to the family during this time.

Please drop me a line while I'm still alive. I've got an aggressive brain tumor, and my doctors say I'll be a goner by year's end (that is, in 3 months). I plan on spending my remaining days drawing, painting, and blogging. If I know you, thank you for your friendship. If you want to write me, please do so sooner rather than later, because I'm getting a little foggier everyday ...

We're reaching out and talking to close friend's of Salmon's for a story on the artist and musician, and if we have any updates, we'll be sure to share. Meanwhile, wouldn't hurt to sit back and spend some time with him on his blog. His last post in April, after not blogging since his diagnosis, was on his drawings. He was always happy to share those with all of us.

Yeah, we were damn lucky.